Gems in the Sand
by KLaD
Summary: After crashing on an island, Glinda is left with an injured Elphaba. They believe that they are alone until Kuja and Zidane make themselves known. After multiple fights and arguments, the four quickly realize that they need to work together to survive and get off the island and back to their homes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a collaborative (obviously) story written by Kinky and Squishy. Wicked chapters (and thus, odd chapters [unless stated otherwise]) are written by me, Squishy. Final Fantasy IX chapters (and even chapters [unless stated otherwise]) are written by Kinky. Have fun reading this~**

* * *

Elphaba struggled to keep the broom in the air and as even as possible, but the added weight of her kinda-girlfriend was making it increasingly difficult. It didn't help that she had really _just _begun to learn how to control the damn thing, but now there was an extra 100-something pound person on the simple wooden stick. Silently cursing the whole situation, Elphaba narrowly avoided a second nosedive into the ocean.

"I don't think we're in Oz anymore, Elphie," Glinda whispered, fear working it's way into her voice. Elphaba wanted nothing more than to land and hold her beautiful blond kinda-girlfriend, but she still couldn't find any land whatsoever. She silently screamed as she pulled the broom back up into the air, still narrowly avoiding a very painful landing in the water. "Elphie...can we land soon...?"

"I'm trying to find land, Glinda," Elphaba hissed through her hazy concentration and gritted teeth. She sounded harsher and angrier than she meant to, but at the moment, it didn't matter. Glinda was lucky she even got a response from the panicking green girl.

"There!" Glinda shouted louder than she meant to. Elphaba screamed in shock and her concentration broke. The broom began falling, but Elphaba managed to recover before it was too late. She glared at Glinda over her shoulder, who responded by sheepishly pointing towards a somewhat far-away island. Elphaba smiled and quickly started for that destination.

Less than ten minutes later, they were over land. Unfortunately, Elphaba couldn't stop the broom and land before they crashed into a tree and were knocked unconscious almost immediately.

* * *

The world came into focus slowly. First was the hot sand underneath her body, next was the gentle breeze blowing over her, finally, she could see the trees and the blue sky. The sun blinded her for a moment, the sudden light not agreeing with the long period of darkness that had come before.

Elphaba struggled to move her arms. Every little movement sent fire through her body and made her want to scream out in pure, raw agony, but she couldn't produce a sound. She noticed a blur of blue and pink standing a few feet away and attempted to focus on it, but it remained an unidentifiable blue - though she still had a very good idea as to what it was.

After a few minutes, she was able to move her upper body without much pain, so that's what she did. She made her hands into fists a few times, curling them tightly and then releasing the tension slowly, before using her arms to push herself up into a sitting position. The first sound she managed to hear and process was the familiar crying.

"Oh, Elphie," the crying voice managed to say. "My Elphie...I didn't mean for this to happen I - Elphie?!"

Elphaba was met with a sudden hug and a very loud wail. The tightness of Glinda's hug was slightly uncomfortable and even caused her a bit of pain, but she endured it, knowing that Glinda needed to make sure that this was real and not some sick dream. A few more minutes passed before Glinda scooted away.

"Can you talk? Please say something - are you okay? I love you - please tell me you're okay!"

"I..." Elphaba's voice was hoarse and soft, but it was still there, much to Glinda's joy. "I am fine, Glinda. A bit sore, I admit, but fine."

"Can you stand?" Glinda asked quickly.

"I...cannot move my lower body at all, actually...I don't even really...feel it...is it even still there?" Elphaba questioned. She knew it was still there, if it wasn't, she'd most likely have died from blood loss, but Glinda really needed the slight amount of humor and she really needed to feel like she was being useful.

Glinda smiled and sniffled slightly. "It's still there, Elphie. Your dress is ripped a bit though..." she moved down to Elphaba's legs and gently lifted the skirt of the dress to examine the green limbs. There were a few cuts, but none appeared to be too bad, so Glinda was a bit more concerned when Elphaba still insisted that she couldn't feel her lower body.

"Maybe I just landed wrong or maybe it's just numb from being in the same position for too long. Try moving them, Glinda. Manually," Elphaba suggested with a small smile. Glinda nodded and did so slowly, lifting one leg and moving it slightly. Elphaba inhaled sharply, the sudden pain quickly becoming too much for her. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving streaks in the sand stuck to her cheeks, as she softly begged for Glinda to stop.

"Sorry!" Glinda exclaimed, quickly setting Elphaba's leg back down on the sand. "I didn't...it was...sorry..."

"It's fine."

Unable to stay still while her friend was obviously in so much pain, Glinda jumped up. "I'm going to go find the broom, it should be nearby. If I find anything like a knife or sticks, I'll bring them with me. I'll - "

"Just find the broom, Glinda. Don't worry about anything else - find the broom," Elphaba ordered, a slight edge in her voice. She wasn't angry at Glinda, she was more angry at herself for being such a baby and such a weakling. If she and Glinda were switched, she wouldn't be so calm and collected, and she knew that. She would have been screaming and trying to insist that she could fix it with her very unstable magical abilities.

And the fact that she had caused this crash and any injuries that Glinda had made her so angry. She was forcing Glinda to take care of her, ignoring anything that could be wrong with Glinda because of a few complications with her stupid legs - she cursed at herself as Glinda disappeared into the trees.

Elphaba scanned the area. She was lying near a few trees, where it was still sandy, but quite a ways away from where the water met the shore. There were a few vines hanging down from the trees, one or two hanging low enough for her to reach out and grab them. The trees seemed to go on forever, a small forest hidden from the sun by the leaves.

Against her better judgement, she reached out for one of the vines and tugged on it a few times, making sure that it was strong enough to handle her weight. She pulled herself up, squeezing her eyes shut and ignoring the stabbing and ripping feeling in her legs. Finally, she was standing up straight, with a lot of reliance on the vine.

"Elphie, I found the broom but it's - Elphie!" Glinda cried. Elphaba opened her eyes and stared at the scared blond. "Elphie...don't...don't hurt yourself..."

"I will not hurt myself," Elphaba replied, smiling slightly. Very slowly, she loosened her grip on her 'cane' and began to fall. Glinda rushed over to her and held her up, slinging the green arm over her shoulder and wrapping her free arm around Elphaba's waist.

"Elphie," she said, smiling slightly.

"Yes?"

"You almost hurt yourself."

Elphaba chuckled. "I guess I did...where, Glinda, where are we going to stay until I can walk?"

"I think you can walk just fine, you just need to relax," Glinda said. "Actually, you know what, you can't walk at all. You're not allowed to even try until I say so! It's a new rule! And, we'll be staying right around here, since we'll be protected from the rain pretty easily with little movement, and there's very little chance we'll get..." Glinda stopped when she noticed the grin forming on Elphaba's face. "What?"

"You're just so smart, it's surprising sometimes, my sweet," Elphaba said. "You act so air-headed and vain, but you're so smart and actually very good in scary situations. I just...I forget that sometimes when we're at Shiz, Glinda. Sometimes, I forget that you're so smart and...I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Glinda said with a smile. "One of us has to be calm, right? But you're so much smarter than me - and a lot braver, Elphie." She kissed Elphaba softly. "And that's why we're going to be fine until you're all better."

A few minutes of silence passed. Finally, Elphaba spoke. "Glinda...I have good news."

"And what's that, most beautiful girl in all of Oz and wherever we happen to be now?"

"I can feel my legs a bit now."

Glinda squealed with joy, making Elphaba smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Zidane's POV

"Hey are you alright?" I yell.

"Zidane...?" Kuja asks. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go..."

"Wouldn't you do the same for me if you knew I was dying?" I ask.

He says nothing.

"... Never mind," I say quietly trying to hold back tears.

"Your comrades were able to escape?" he asks trying to change the subject.

"Yeah...I knew you had something to do with it," I say.

"...I'm glad they made it," he says in a quiet voice.

"Yeah...well now it's our turn to get movin'," I tell him.

"...I don't deserve to live after all I've done," he says. "I'm useless to this world."

"No one is useless...You helped us escape, remember?" I ask.

"After you beat me I had nothing left. Then I finally realized what it means to live..." he starts, "I guess I was too late."

Then his head lolls to the side making me freak.

"Hey don't you go dying on me, alright?!" I beg him.

Then I hear a noise and look up. I see a sight that made me throw myself over him to try and shield him. It was the Iifa Tree roots coming to crash down on us.

"Before we die I want to tell you that I love you." I cry.

Then suddenly everything was pitch black.

* * *

Kuja's POV

"Before we die I want to tell you I love you," Zidane cries out.

'That's it I've got to get him out of here!' I think.

I summoned the last bit of magic I had left and cast a teleportation spell on him, not knowing that he was holding on to me so tight that I would teleport with him until it was yet again too late. With the extra person, being me, I knew that my magic had become unstable, since that happened who knew where we'd end up. Suddenly the familiar glow of my teleporting spell developed around us. As soon as it came, it went, leaving us in an open place. Then Zidane started to move again.

* * *

Zidane's POV

"Wha...What happened?" I ask.

"I used an teleportation spell," Kuja replies.

"Okay so then where are we?" I ask.

"I don't know. You were supposed to be the only one that was teleported, so when I came with you anything could've happened," he replies.

I finally looked up and gasped. Instantly I knew we wasn't on Gaia anymore because it didn't have any of these weird creatures or trees.

"Um...I don't think we're on Gaia anymore," I say. Then I start blushing when I realized that I had admitted my feelings.

"Then where are we..." he starts, "Um Zidane why are you blushing?" he asks.

"Because I told you my secret," I whisper.

" It's okay. I love you too," he says.

"Then why...?" I ask.

"So that Garland couldn't hurt you. I also had to treat you the way I did so that you wouldn't love me," he explains, not needing me to continue.

"But why?" I ask.

"So that he couldn't hurt you to get to me or vice versa," he tells me. Before I have a chance to say anything, someone - or something - zooms over our head and into the forest where it crashed.

"We'll continue this later. Right now we need to check on that!" I say.

By time we get there, we see two women talking. As they start walking, Kuja casts a Thunder spell at them, and I throw a dagger at them. Then the green one spins around despite her obvious injuries.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger! I can't wait to find out what happens next? So Squishy, It's your turn!**

_**Okay, it appears we are going to be switching POVs in the Final Fantasy chapters - okay then. (By the way, ANs from the other author will be in italics - so this is Squishy ATM.)**_


	3. Chapter 3

Elphaba spun around, a dagger whizzing by her head and narrowly missing her. Glinda pressed up against Elphaba, gently pushing her to the side to avoid the slightly-weakened thunder that someone had sent at them.

"What the...what the hell?" Elphaba snapped. She hopped on one foot to reposition herself while Glinda tightened her hold on Elphaba's waist. "What was that? Is someone else here?"

"Maybe..." Glinda mumbled. "Elphaba, I - "

"Don't cry," Elphaba cut Glinda off. She looked at Glinda and smiled. "Please don't cry. We are fine." Glinda nodded hesitantly. "I am going to see if someone else is here - do not move, Glinda. Do not!"

Before Glinda could protest, Elphaba pulled herself away and began half-hopping, half-limping towards where the dagger came from. She could make out two figures standing on the beach.

"Who are you?" she called as she got closer. "Tell me who you are now!"

The figures - two young men - turned around and looked at her. One - the blond - had a monkey-like tail. He smiled, but reached for his other dagger. The other simply shook his head, his lavender hair shining in the sunlight.

"Who are _you_?" the blond man questioned. Elphaba moved her fingers slowly, producing tiny green sparks as she did so.

"I refuse to answer until you answer me," she said. "Tell me; who are you and why are you here?"

The lavender-haired man cleared his throat. "I am Kuja and this is Zidane - my younger..." his voice trailed off, not sure if he wanted to finish the sentence. "Friend."

"I am Elphaba," Elphaba answered quickly. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Zidane tackled her.

"Are you here to kill us?!" he shouted, pressing the blade of his dagger against her neck. She simply smiled and set her hand on his back.

"No. But," she paused to move slightly, "I may have to if you stay with your knife pressed against my neck."

Zidane didn't move. He added a little more pressure to the dagger, cutting Elphaba with the tip a little. A small hiss of pain escaped Elphaba, moreso from her previous injuries than from the newly-inflicted one.

"Elphie?"

Kuja disappeared into the forest towards where Glinda's voice was coming from. In a moment of panic, Elphaba released all of her built up magic into Zidane's back, tossed him off of her, and moved as fast as she could in the direction that Kuja went. Zidane quickly chased after her, ignoring the pain from the attack.

"Glinda!" Elphaba screamed, panic and desperation evident in her voice. "Glinda! Run! Please run!"

* * *

Glinda turned around, hearing her name being called by Elphaba. Before she could ask what was wrong, someone burst through the leaves and vines. He stopped and stared at her for a minute, a smirk slowly appearing on his face. He held out his left hand and it began to turn icy blue.

"So, your name is Glinda then," he said softly and slowly. Glinda nodded, backing away from him. "Elphaba seems to really care about you, Glinda. Do you hear the panic - the raw _fear _in her voice when she's calling for you?"

A very recognizable scream came from a ways away. Glinda screamed in response, out of fear and a few other things she couldn't quite name. "Elphie!"

"By the way, my name is Kuja," the man said, a solid form beginning to form on his hand. His smirk turned into a smile. "Question, Glinda. Do you like the cold?"

"No...I...I don't like the cold - why? Why are you asking me?" she asked. Kuja didn't answer. He simply laughed and dramatically waved his hand, sending a ball of frost and ice at Glinda. She attempted to jump away, but failed and fell down. Kuja walked over to her and set his hand on her stomach, much to her discomfort.

"I guess you don't like the cold...well, here," he grinned. Slowly, Glinda began to feel a light warm sensation start where his hand was. It spread across her body and quickly rose in temperature until it was burning her horribly. She screamed in agony while Kuja laughed.

"Leave her!" Elphaba screamed, falling to her knees. She sent Kuja flying towards a tree and quickly crawled over to Glinda, ignoring the pain in her legs and sides. She collapsed next to her, coughing painfully. "Glinda..."

A blond man was quickly behind her. His dagger was dripping blood and Glinda quickly realized that it was Elphaba's blood.

"What have you done?!" she shrieked, turning over and hugging a probably-dead Elphaba. "She...you...why?!" She began crying, not sure of anything else to do. Kuja walked over to the blond man, frowning.

"Zidane...this is dumb. Why are we attacking them - they're stuck here too...we should give them a chance before we hurt them," he said.

"Good idea...they might be able to help us..." Zidane replied. "But that green girl...I..."

Before he could finish, Kuja knelt down beside Elphaba. Glinda pulled her closer.

"No! Don't touch her!" she shouted.

"I can fix her, Glinda," Kuja murmured, showing uncharacteristic compassion and remorse. Slowly, Glinda's grip on Elphaba loosened until Kuja was holding Elphaba.

Zidane walked over and helped Glinda up. "Come on," he said. Glinda reluctantly followed him towards the beach, casting a final glance over her shoulder and crying again.

* * *

Elphaba opened her eyes and saw the crystal blue that she thought she recognized. She opened her mouth to protest being woken up, but quickly realized that she wasn't in her room at Shiz with Glinda - she was lying in some man's arms in a forest on an island in some land that she didn't know. And the man that was holding her had tried to kill both her and Glinda. The whole situation was very confusing.

"What happened? Where is Glinda? What have you done...?" she asked in a hoarse voice. She didn't voice the fact that she wasn't in any pain at all anymore - she could feel her lower body completely and her sides didn't sting from the fabric of her dress getting in the deep cuts. "Answer me, Kuja."

"Zidane apparently almost killed you, and he took Glinda away to talk to her or deal with her possible injuries - he didn't tell me, he just left," Elphaba's saviour answered. Elphaba shifted in an attempt to get up, but Kuja stopped her. "Don't. The magic is still finalizing - any major movement can break the spell and reopen the wounds. I saved you, by the way. That's the answer to your final question."

"Thank you..." Elphaba replied, closing her eyes tightly. "Thank you for sending Glinda away...thank you for saving me...just...thank you."

"You're welcome," Kuja said. "You had quite a number of injuries - is Glinda injured too?"

"Not that I know. She did not crash as bad as I did - I was in front of her and took most of the impact. I think she may have actually landed on me," Elphaba chuckled slightly. "A few minor cuts and bruises, maybe a little emotional and mental injuries with all that has happened recently...but she is virtually unharmed, by my knowledge."

Kuja nodded, but decided to use a bit of healing magic on Glinda anyways.

"So...do you know where Zidane and Glinda might be?" Elphaba asked.

Kuja grinned and looked over his shoulder. "All I know is that they left that way, Elphaba."


	4. Chapter 4

Zidane's POV

"If I could go back and fix that one mistake...everyone always thinks this at least once in their lifetime. Have I ever thought it? Yes I have quite a few times, but now that I think about it...I've realized that if it wasn't for those mistakes, I wouldn't be here right now," I tell Glinda.

"But what if you know that it was completely wrong?" she asks me.

"Well I still wouldn't change it. If I did would I be here with Kuja now or even have met you?" I ask.

"Most likely not, but don't you hate the feeling of the mistake nagging at you?" she asks.

"Yes absolutely but if we were not meant to have done it then we wouldn't have it is from the mistakes we make that helps us eventually become stronger." I reply.

"But wha..." She starts.

"No buts okay? Lets just drop this topic," I tell her. Then I got an idea - a very childish one at that.

"I know lets build sandcastles!" I say

"Why would we do that?" she asks.

"You ask lots of questions," I point out. "But if you must know...it's just seems like something fun to do."

"Oh," is all she says.

I get up and dust the sand of my butt, being careful around my tail, due to the fact that all genomes tails are very sensitive, and start walking towards the edge of the water. I carefully pick out a spot not too far nor too close to the water and start on my sandcastle. After a few hours pass I stand back to see my castle, but what I saw made me feel a little sad.

"Oh, wow that's a good castle Zidane, but why are there wings surrounding it? Wait, why are you crying?" Glinda asks me.

"Because it's a memory that caused both of us lots of pain," says a familiar sounding voice from behind us. I feel Kuja walk over and wrap his arms around me and vaguely hear him asking if I was alright. All I could manage to do was nod.

"What happened?" asks the one with green skin - Elphaba I think her name was.

Kuja looks down at me to make sure it was okay for him to tell them.

"Go ahead. If we are stuck here we might as well tell them," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"As you know, I'm Kuja and my love here is Zidane, and it's a miracle that we are together right now. A few days ago I was, as most of his friend would describe me, a narcissistic maniac, and my sole purpose was to destroy Gaia, the planet Zidane grew up on, after I destroyed Terra, the planet both of us were originally from, before any of that happened I had to do some less than pleasant things to innocent people. I was a complete monster back then, completely out of control, and well Zidane and I were not exactly on the greatest terms. In fact, we fought quite a bit and I always treated him terrible, thinking that if I was going to get anything done I'd have to push away, or even kill the one person whom have ever meant more to me than life, back then I felt love was weakness. And...and..." Kuja started but couldn't finish due to him breaking down

"I'll take it from there 'kay?" I tell him. He nods, signaling for me to indeed take over.

"While he was trying to do this, me and a group of seven more people were trying to stop him. He lusted for power and decided to try to do something that only the almost extinct race of summoners could do," I say. I was interrupted by Glinda asking more questions.

"What is a summoner and what do they do?" she asks.

"Well, summoners are a race of horned people that have special abilities. They can summon powerful monsters from special crystals. These monsters were used to battle spawn of the mist which existed solely to kill people like me - puppets to do as said but then to be tossed to the side when a better version came along," Kuja explains to them, seemingly over what had upset him.

After a while longer and several out breaks later, we finally explained what had happened to Alexandria castle that was so terrible. For a long time no one said a thing.


End file.
